Why Scorpius Is Weird
by The Cake Genius
Summary: When Albus meets Scorpius in his first year at Hogwarts, he doesn't find what he expects: a cold, haughty, all-around Malfoy. Scorpius is crazy and daring and brave, and the two make instant friends. But Scorpius is weird for a lot more reasons than Al had anticipated... NextGen preslash in their first year, attempted humor and some actually very sweet moments.
1. Chapter 1

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Reason 1: He doesn't hate me.

A few moments later, I was lugging my trunk through the narrow hallway of the Hogwarts Express, desperately resisting the urge to burst into tears. James always said that crying was for sissies and fairies. I knew I would miss Dad, Mum, and Lily terribly... maybe Dad the most.

I scanned the entire train, but couldn't find a place to sit (James wouldn't let me sit with him, of course, since I'm much too uncool for _his_ group. Curse him.) until I reached the rear of the locomotive. There was one empty compartment to the right.

Empty, save one Scorpius Malfoy. I hesitated before opening the door. _But,_ I reasoned, _it would just be for the train ride. Then I'll probably never have to deal with him ever again. I'm not making a commitment, or anything. I can just read a book to pass the time._

So I took a deep breath and opened the door.

He didn't notice me at first. He was staring out the window, tapping his foot. But I coughed a bit, and he whirled round to face me with surprised eyes.

Those eyes... They weren't the cold grey that I expected. They were actually a startlingly light green. Not green like mine, which were emerald- colored, like Dad's; no, these eyes were lighter, like the spearmint- flavored Muggle chewing gum that Aunt Hermione had given us once, or the green sea glass that Victoire liked to collect. She keeps it in a little locked box under her bed. Sea glass isn't at all like freshly broken glass, which is sharp and dark and dangerous; sea glass is soft around the edges, and the color is lightened considerably, and somehow the surface looks frosted with tiny white designs, if the glass is old enough. It's not dangerous at all. Sometimes, Vicki lets me hold a piece of it in my fingers when I'm having a breakdown, and rubbing the soft surface soothes me, as if I was by the sea myself.

"Hi." His voice snapped me out of my trance, and I could feel myself blushing with embarrassment for spacing off like that. Those sea glass eyes blinked at me questioningly.

"Oh, erm, hi." I could feel my blush deepening. "Everywhere else is full, so... can I sit here?"

He blinked again, and grinned, though I didn't know why. I took it as a bad sign. "Of course!" He had a high, elegant voice.

I started to lift my trunk onto the rack above our heads, and he bounded over to grab the other end. I thought for a moment that he was about to do something cruel, but he actually aided me in lifting the trunk to set it on the rack, still showing those pearly whites.

Curioser and curioser.

He plopped down in his original seat, and I cautiously took the seat across from him.

He smiled even wider at me. "I thought you wouldn't want to sit with me. You looked real scared back at the station."

So he had noticed.

"You're very blunt."

"And your very strange." He laughed, a sound that was high and clear as fresh air, his porcelain skin flushed slightly, and his eyes sparkling.

"Look," I proceeded with caution. "We don't have to talk, or anything. It's just that this was the only place left. We don't even know eachother, and we'll probably be enemies at school."

"Oh." He looked genuinely disappointed. "'Kay then, suit yourself." He returned to pointedly staring out the window, his cheeks a brighter pink than when he was laughing.

Oh, God, was I being mean to him? I wasn't meaning to be. I was simply pointing out the obvious, in my view. But maybe I did have a mean streak. Maybe I should have been in Slytherin, after all.

I felt the need to apologize. This was not easy for me. Not because I'm too proud to, like James, it's just that I was a bit, well, shy.

But I needed to be brave to be in Gryffindor, so I squirmed around a bit before eloquently starting with, "Er, I-"

But he cut me off before I can finish, however, as if he couldn't supress the ouburst any longer. "It's just that I know that your dad 'n' my dad hated eachother's guts and all, but I don't think I want to be like my dad, and I don't think I want to be in Slytherin, but my whole family is, and they want me to be that stuff, but I REALLY DON'T, and-"

"Okay, okay!" I shouted in an attempt to pacify him, because his hand gestures were growing wilder and wilder, and the whites of his eyes were turning pink as he hyperventilated. I didn't want a crying Malfoy on my hands before I even got to Hogwarts. "How about we start over."

He sighed in relief. "Yeah, that would be nice."

"Okay, then. Hi, I'm Albus."

"Hi, I'm Scorpius. Though I might change that. It doesn't really suit me, you know? Much too sharp around the edges. I've been thinking "Letitia," or maybe "Jade." What do you think?"

The boy was just plain weird. I was growing resigned to it. "Aren't those girls' names?"

"If you named a boy them, they would be boy names. Just like if boys wore makeup instead of girls, a girl wearing makeup would be a tranny."

"Er, I guess... I think you should just be happy with Scorpius."

He smiled again. Woah, his mood swings were crazy. "So, what House do YOU want to be Sorted into?"

Okay, this was easy. "Gryffindor, for sure."

"Argh! I wish I could be Sorted RIGHT NOW! Just so I could know what House I would be Sorted into! Or, if I'm destined for Slytherin, which I prolly am, I can at least get it over with."

"Why don't you want to be in Slytherin?" I asked.

"Well, everyone in Slytherin seems a little mean. I don't wanna be mean. 'Cause if you get too mean, if you want too much, you get EVIL. And I don't wanna be like my dad, even though everyone thinks I do.

"And besides... I'm not sure Slytherins would be all that nice to... a boy like me."

"Oh." I wished I knew what to say. I wanted to find out what he meant, but I didn't know how. I wanted to tell him that everything would be okay, but I didn't know how to do that, either. So I just repeated what Dad had told me. "You know, the Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?" He looked at me like I'd just thrown him a lifeline.

"Yeah. At least, that's what my dad told me. 'Cause I was really nervous about being Sorted into Slytherin. But he told me that the same thing had happened to him! And he didn't want to be in Slytherin, so the Hat put him in Gryffindor!"

"Wow." He looked immensely relieved. "I can't imagine you or your dad in Slytherin."

I decided, in that moment, that Scorpius would be my friend. I had certainly misjudged him before, and besides, it looked like he needed one.

Just then, none other but James came bursting through the door.

He gasped. "AL! What are you doing sitting with HIM?!" My brother is prone to melodramatics.

"Relax, James. I'm just sitting with him. He's nice."

"But- but-" he sputtered. "You're SITTING with SCORPIUS MALFOY!"

"Don't be ridiculous," I said, winking at my new friend. "This is Letitia."

My new friend threw his arms around me and squealed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine, except for Scorpius' personality.

Reason 2: He never is what people expect.

"Malfoy, Scorpius," called Professor McGonagall, the very old woman who had introduced herself as our new headmistress.

I gave his shaking hand a squeeze before he walked up to the front of the Great Hall to be Sorted. He didn't look back.

Whispers all around the room chorused the same chant: "No wonder where he's going..."

"... Death Eater's son..."

"... war..."

"... betrayal..."

"... Slytherin..."

They were words coated in loathing. I prayed for his sake that he proved them all wrong.

I hadn't realized before the Sorting how skinny Scorpius is. When I met him, his personality overwhelmed his size, but then I could see that he was even smaller than me underneath his perfectly tailored new school robes.

He sat down on the stool, and met my eyes in the crowd. He was so scared, he'd turned even whiter than usual, making me realize that he had a light spray of freckles across his nose. Another unexpected detail.

But mingled with his fear, there wass also a blaze of determination in his face. His knuckles went white as he gripped the small stool and squinched his eyes shut. I could see his lips moving, murmuring, "Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor..." under his breath.

The Hat took a long time. Too long. But when it finally shouted a resounding "GRYFFINDOR!" it sounded sure. Scorpius opened his eyes and beamed at me. I grinned back and gave him a thumbs up. His smile shone through his face like the sun through the clouds as he joined the Gryffindor table and its other members clapped numbly. They were obviously shocked.

But Scor was definitely meant for Gryffindor.

The other names seemed to pass by in a blur. I had been too preoccupied with my friend's Sorting that I hadn't had time to worry about my own. But by the time that Proffessor McGonagall called "Potter, Albus," my knees had somehow been replaced with Jell-O. 'That's odd,' was all I have time to think before the Sorting Hat was placed upon my head.

"Hmmm..." it whispered right in my ear, making me jump a bit. "Potter's boy... You're definitely his son." I would have feel proud, if I wasn't so nervous. "You're trustworthy and kind, that's for sure, but a good fit for Ravenclaw, with your brains and little experiments..." Ravenclaw? I had never even thought of that. I was too worried about Gryffindor and Slytherin. "You're brave as well, I see, but, ah... I see Slytherin in you as well, a need to prove yourself right..." White-hot panic twisted like a knife my gut, and all I could think was _not slytherin, not Slytherin, anything but Slytherin... _"Not, Slytherin, eh? You really are your father's son... Oh, well, better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

The Hat bellowed the last word aloud, and intense relief overtook my anxiety_. I'm Gryffindor. I'm safe._

I shakily joined Scorpius at the Gryffindor table, not failing to notice that no one was sittig near him. He clapped me on the back enthusiastically. "Good job, mate!"

"Yeah, you, too."

All through the delicious dinner, my happiness and contentment filled me like a warm cup of milk, and I carried the feeling with me as Scorpius and I chose adjacent beds, right up to the point when I drifted off to sleep...

A/N: I would love you forever if you left a Review. Even if it's a flame or an emoticon or something. If you didn't like it, you should still review, because maybe you could help me improve. If you did like it, review to make my squeal with joy. Pretty please? With a cherry on top?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The HP-verse is not mine, unfortunately.

A/N: This one's a bit sadder. There's a reason I put "Hurt/Comfort" as part of the genre. Also, I'm sorry if there are things accidentally written in present tense. I'm used to writing in that style, so even though I proofread this, there might be some mistakes.

Reason 3: For someone so loud, he can be really quiet.

There was a crash like a herd of elephants.

I buried my head in my pillow and mumbled "not now, James" until I realized that James wasn't here, because I was at Hogwarts.

So I sat up groggily, shoved on my round glasses, drew back my curtains, and turned to look at Scorpius beside me, and that was when I froze.

The first thing I noticed was that he was soaking wet, along with the rest of his bed. Then, I noticed that someone has charmed his bed emerald green instead of the Gryffindor crimson. And then I noticed the words written on the hangings.

_go back to your own house, slytherin_

_racist_

_Snake_

_evil_

_Death eater_

_I wish you would go die! Everyone hates you anyway!_

_Don't come near my family, or I'll hex you until you scream!_

I gaped in shock at my friend, who was still blinking water out of his eyes. He stared back at me, apparently dazed.

The first thing I could think to say was, "where did all the water come from?"

He numbly held up an empty basin beside him on the floor.

"It must have been charmed to fall as soon as you woke up," I said as I wildly prayed that he wouldn't read the slurs written on his hangings.

No such luck. He'd gotten up, and was now clutching the fabric as he read, his knuckles white and his face unreadable. Since he was usually so emotional, I expected him to burst into tears, but he just stood there, staring at the phrase _I wish you would go die! _ For some reason, it was even worse than if he _had_ been crying.

"Who did this?" I asked softly.

Scorpius just shook his head.

"_Who did this?"_ I shouted, louder, scanning the room. Our four other roommates stared back at me, shocked, looking just as dumbfounded as I.

Then I remembered the disgusted expression on my brother's face as he saw how Scorpius and I were sitting at dinner, and a rage like nothing I have ever felt enveloped me. "I am going to _kill _James," I muttered under my breath.

"Al..." It was the first word Scor had said since he woke up. "Al, don't..."

"Sorry," I sighed. I looked at him with his pale face and sopping pajamas, and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of my friend before I went off to seek my revenge.

I walked over and put a protective arm around him. His shivers reverberated through my bones.

I noticed that the other boys were still gawking, and glared daggers at them until they looked away.

Tightening my grip on Scorpius, I guided him into the dorm's bathroom and handed him a towel. When he didn't take it, I unbuttoned his shirt for him and started drying him myself. He was so skinny, I could practically see his ribs. "Here. You'll be okay. We'll get Rose to tell us a drying charm for you clothes, and the house elves will get your bed, don't worry. You'll be fine," I assured to myself as much as him.

He finally took the towel. "Yeah." He started shaking his head like a dog to get the water out. "I can take it from here." I hovered, still anxious. "Really, Al, you don't have to mother me."

So I slowly edged out of the bathroom, waiting for him to say more.

He didn't.

_James..._

I walked calmly out the door of our dormitory, still in my own pajamas, and into the second year boys'.

James and his roommates were in the middle of a loud, shirtless pillow fight, so it took a few minutes for them to notice me.

"Al! Don't you know how to knock?" laughed James as he hit another boy in the face.

"James. Come here. Right now."

He did. "What's up?" If I hadn't lived with him for all eleven years of my life, I might not have been able to see through his innocent facade. But his eyes were too steady, his demeanor too casual to bee natural.

"You know exactly what's _up, _James." His friends tittered in the background. "Do you know how Scorpius _looked_ when he saw what you'd _done_?!"

"I didn't do _anything!"_ He protested with glancing eyes.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND STOP LYING TO ME!"

"I'M NOT LYING!" he bellowed.

"But you _know _who did it, don't you? Which one of your little friends was, huh?"

"ALBUS!" You've gone completely off your rocker! He's just a _Slytherin! _He's a _Malfoy! _He's a-"

"I guess you didn't notice, but the Hat put him in Gryffindor! He's one of us now!"

James shook his head angrily.

One of his friends went, "wow, James, you never told us he was so..."

"...brave," another finished for him.

"Yeah, well, I'm also in Gryffindor. You were _wrong_." I watched the spark slide right out of James' face. "Yeah. That's what I thought," I said, voice full of contempt.

I stalked out of the room and back into my own. As I silently changed into my robes, one of my roommates asked, "what was going on in there, Albus? We could hear the shouts in here."

"My brother," I replied shortly, and we left it at that.

When Scorpius came out of the bathroom, he was dry, dressed, and as bouncy and excited as if nothing had ever happened.

But all through our first Transfiguration class, I couldn't get him to concentrate, because he'd taken out glittery red and gold markers that I'd seen in wizard art shops, and was coloring all over his arms. He even did his nails in alternating colors. (I heard someone mutter "poof " a couple seats down. I didn't know what it meant, but it did not sound good.) When he started to scribble on his face, however, I had to draw the line.

"Scorpius, stop drawing on your face. You'll look like a scribbly mess for days."

He shrugged, but put the markers away. He then proceeded to doodle lions all over all his notebooks for the rest of our classes.

At the end of the day, we tentatively headed back to the dorm. Scorpius covered his eyes with his hands, and I looked at the room for him.

I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that his bed had been fixed, probably by the house elves as I had predicted. "It's okay, Scor, you can open your eyes now."

His shoulders relaxed, and he skipped back down to the common room. "Fabulous!" he called up the stairs.

But around one in the morning, I swore I could hear muffled sobs.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: So, according to Eddie Izzard, you can claim something with a flag. I, sadly, have no flag to claim Harry Potter with, nor the random chocolate companies mentioned in this chapter. I only have a metaphorical rainbow flag, which is unfortunately invalid.

A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter and happier than the last one. It was just fun to write. :) The next one is more angsty though.

Reason 4: His hair preferences (oh, God help us).

A week after the Bed Incident nothing so drastic had happened. Even though most of the House tended to give him dirty looks, the boys in our dorm had shyly began to talk to him like a normal person. Scorpius was so happy that the previous night we all sat on the floor of our dorm and had a chocolate party until we all crashed around 3 AM.

Where Scor got so much chocolate, I had no idea. It covered quite a bit of the dorm floor. When I asked, he simply said "classified," and shoved a huge bittersweet Dove bar in my mouth to shut me up, and happily shoved his own face with Hershey's Milk Chocolate With Almonds.

However, not all of Gryffindor House was quite as accepting of Scorpius, and our friendship.

Specifically, my brother.

Even though things were still awkward between us, he stubbornly kept trying to convince me that my best friend was the root of all evil. "I simply can't understand why you're friends with Malfoy, Al," James said as he leaned forward and took a large bite of an organic gourmet white chocolate bar.

"He's not like his father, you know," I replied, starting a letter to Mum and Dad. "When you get to know him, he's actually quite nice."

"What do you mean, 'get to know him?!' You only met him last week! He's probably gaining your trust so he can spy on you!"

I sighed. "You are overreacting. That would be a Slytherin thing to do, and the Hat put him in Gryffindor, and the Hat is never wrong."

"But-"

I looked him in the eye. "James, the chocolate you are eating was kindly bestowed to you by the very man you are currently criticizing. I have also eaten said chocolate. Have I died? No. Have you died? No. Has anyone actually come to _any_ harm since Scorpius was Sorted? No. So there. And besides, I trust him."

James ogled at me, which was not a pretty sight, seeing as he had not yet swallowed his chocolate... nor has he brushed his teeth that day, for that matter.

But before my words had a chance to sink beyond the many dusty layers of my brother's thick skull, a hyper flash of Scorpius bolted down the stairs.

"AL! AL! AL! Look at my hair!" Aforementioned hyper flash skidded to a halt in front of James and me, but continued to bounce on the balls of his feet and flap his arms like a deranged hippogriff.

As I took him in, I realized that his hair had indeed changed.

Instead of its original platinum color, it was now sky blue, and sticking up through the middle in interestingly shaped chunks. "Oh," is all I could manage to say, and James just continued to ogle (seriously, he needed to shut his mouth).

"Isn't it _fabulous_?"

"Er..."

"Rose helped me with the color, and I got the gel from a fourth year girl! It took a while to get it just right, but I think I love the way it turned out, don't you?"

I took a moment to consider this. Once I got over the initial shock of bright blue hair, I started to appreciate how gracefully the sections of it were arranged, and how the color brought out the subtle blue tones in his light green eyes.

Besides, appearance could not be a question with Scor. It was either absolutely perfect, or a miserable failure. So I said, "Yeah, I like it."

James watched in fascinated horror as the now blue-haired boy spun around in circles singing, "Albus likes my ha-air! Albus likes my ha-air!"

I examined his arms, which were still as vibrantly colorful as they were when he first colored them (it must have been the magical ink). "Scorpius, you're going to turn yourself rainbow if you don't watch out."

"So you're finally catching on!"

"Oh, God help us," James muttered, and dejectedly stalked through the portrait hole, still eating his chocolate.

A/N: Review? Please? *makes Padfoot-style puppydog eyes*


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: *sigh* Nope.

A/N: Yay, chapter 5! Is this too similar to chapter 3? I don't know. But it's not my fault! You know how sometimes, the character just takes over and does what they do, even if it's not something you necessarily want to happen? I felt like this would be the most realistic thing to happen... so it did. O.o BTW, if anyone noticed the completely random Death Note reference in here, let me know. XD I also sort of referenced to Potter Puppet Pals... erm... yeah...

Reason 5: His dad.

I was studying for Astronomy while eating a muffin, James was flirting with a fifth-year girl, the Slytherins were embellishing their aura, and Scorpius was drawing a moose on his homework when the daily dose of owls swooped through the Great Hall. My snowy owl, Iris, dropped a letter from home right in the marmalade jar, and I smiled warmly as I pulled it out of the sticky mess. I got a lot of mail from home, but I never grew tired of it.

What surprised me, though, was when a rather large and sophistcated-looking owl swooped in front of Scorpius and elegantly deposited a scarlet letter in front of his plate.

Several people gasped, including James, and clustered around the small boy.

I'd never seen Scor get mail from home before, nor had I heard him utter a word of his family. This did not bode well.

"That's a Howler, mate," Roger (one of our roommates) said in awe, and we all shivered. "Open it quick, or it'll be even worse."

The Malfoy curled his legs up to rest under his chin, his (radomly bare) feet fidgeting. Expressionless, he took hold of the letter with his thumb and index finger like it was a pipe bomb. He slowly began to open it in this manner, and we all held our breath.

The letter exploded in a torrent of angry words.

"YOU ARE A SHAME TO OUR FAMILY!" The voice was cold and fractured. Scorpius started chewing on his thumnail. "I COULD UNDERSTAND IF IT WAS RAVENCLAW OR HUFFLEPUFF, BUT _GRYFFINDOR?!_ THAT IS NOT THE WAY I HAVE RAISED YOU! THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR! YOUR GRANDFATHER IS IN AZKABAN BECAUSE OF THEM! YOUR MOTHER IS CRYING! WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?! WHERE WERE WE NOT CLEAR?! FROM NOW ON, YOU WILL OBEY MY ORDERS AND STAY OUT OF SIGHT! UNDER SUSPICION! FIND SOME NICE SLYTHERIN FRIENDS, AND ONE DAY A _GIRL_, FOR LORD'S SAKE, AND DO _NOT-" _Everyone flinched at the volume and rage in Draco Malfoy's voice. "I REPEAT, _DO NOT FRATERNIZE WITH THE GRYFFINDORS!_"

The entire Hall was silent except for the few catcalling Slytherins. If a feather dropped, the world would have shattered. Scorpius' eyes were staring off at some point on the wall, his vibrant hair almost mocking him. I had no idea of what to do.

To my surprise, it was James that made the first move.

"Well, chap," he said, his voice oddly forced. He walked over and clapped the frail boy on the back. "Anyone who can rile up Draco Malfoy is a friend of mine."

As it was with James, a murmur of agreement rippled throughout the Gryffindor table. One by one, everyone got up to congratulate him. The reciever of the Howler still looked dazed.

I sat and watched, knowing he'd need time to breathe. Only when the bell rang to signify that it was time to go to our first class of the day, I walked over to him and took him gingerly by the elbow. I felt as if his bones would break if I let go or gripped too tightly. "Time for class, Scor," I whispered. He still didn't answer. "It's going to be okay. It'll pass. It's going to be all right. You'll see."

He finally consented to being walked to calss. He trudged along so slowly that I was late for the first time in my life.

Another first: I didn't really care. Because I knew in my heart that I did the right thing. And I knew I was doing the right thing when I continued to follow my friend like a guard dog, cheering him up and growling at anyone who had the audactity to come near him.

I stayed that way until it was time to go to bed, and naturally made my way towards mine.

But Scor grabbed my hand and held on tight. "Please," he whispered in a shuddering voice. "Don't leave me."

So we lay down in his bed together, and he clutched at my arms like he'd never let go.

"It's okay, I'm here. I'll never leave, okay? I'm right here for you."

For the first time since I'd known him, Scorpius started to cry. I knew he wouldn't want the other boys to hear, so I cast the best silencing charm I could muster on the hangings.

He started sobbing so hard it came out in gasps, and I held him tight an rubbed circles on his bony back. It reminded me of one of my panic attacks, when I felt like I couldn't breathe. Oh my god. What if he suffocated? In this state, it wasn't impossible. I started to say I was getting something, but he started screaming and clutching me so tightly his nails dig into my skin, and I couldn't.

"Breathe. Just breathe. Shhh. In... out... good, see? You're all right."

He ran out of tears, but his body kept heaving against mine. He really was tiny. He wasn't not big enough to hold this up on his own. The burden might have broken him.

So I held it up with him.

A/N: Review, and the sun will shine brightly upon your fields!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: How many ways can I say this? I do not own Harry Potter. There, Dlvvanzor-style, simple and easy! Mary's mine, though. She's just a totally random OC.

A/N: I find it pretty amazing that people like this story... Every Review I get makes me grin stupidly at my computer and feel like there are all these sunshine-y butterflies flying about in my chest :D I liked writing Albus' thoughts in this one, lol. I was sort of-ish immitating A. A. Milne in how weird and rambling the grammar is.

Reason 6: He doesn't realize how good he is at everything.

Scorpius glared at his half-finished essay and crossed his arms as he sat back in his armchair by the fire. I, yet again, was helping him with his homework, and he, yet again, was extremely frustrated with the assignment. "I'm not good at anything," he huffed.

Before I had a chance to reply, a girl in our year named Mary tentatively approached us with a blank sheet of paper. "Hey... Scorpius?" she asked shyly.

He turned to her, green eyes inquisitive. "Yeah?"

"I sort of want a picture of a rose- like my friend's name, see?- so I can give it to her as a gift... But I'm not really an artist, so... I was wondering if you could draw it for me?"

Scorpius grinned, happy once more. "Sure, Mary!" Essay forgotten, he grabbed the sheet of paper and started drawing. Already, the flower was beginning to take shape.

I was slightly miffed that his attention had been stolen away so easily. "You know, Scor, we still have your-"

"I can finish it later," he hummed happily, petals blooming from the tip of his quill.

As I watched him, I couldn't help but admire his skill, even through my annoyance. He really was a talented artist.

He handed off the finished drawing to Mary, smiling peacefully. "Here you are."

"Thanks." She smiled and blushed slightly as she looked at it. "Er, Scorpius..."

"Yeah?"

She ducked her head, her mop of blonde hair falling in front of her eyes. "I really like you."

My mind screached to a halt. The space-time continuum was imploding. The world was over. I was falling down a dark, endless abyss. _No! _I felt like screaming. _No you don't!_

"Thanks, Mary, I like you too." _Not like- _

"Not like that, I mean." I could practically hear her blush. "I think you're cute..." _No you don't! Scorpius is not cute! You do not think he is! Because he isn't! He most certainly isn't!_ "Will you... doyouwanttogooutwithme?" _No, he does not! He's isn't! He's isn't that that he's isn't! The isn't being what he's is! And he's just- just- isn't!_

I stared back and forth between my friend and the girl with wide eyes. He couldn't say yes, could he? Unless...

"Well- Mary, see- the thing is-" he started, "I... I mean, I'm not... really... that kind of... I don't..." He glanced at me, and I looke away quickly, staring at my shoes like they were the most fascinating things I had ever seen. "I can't. I just can't. It wouldn't be... I can't. I'm sorry, Rose."

She scurried away, red as a tomato, and I let out a sigh of relief. "God, that was awkward," said Scorpius bluntly.

"Yeah... Let's just finish your essay. Get it over with."

"Mmhm." He bent his blue head over his homework once more, his face bright red. I wished I could know what he was feeling, what he had meant in his words to Mary. But I felt like it was not a good time to ask, and besides, the other half of me just wanted to forget the whole ordeal.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Joanne, who we shall forever love. "Hair" is Lady Gaga's, who shall forever be a mystery even to the best of us.

A/N: If you haven't heard "Hair," you need to. Right now. It's one of those songs that you want to blast full volume and dance wildly around the room to, singing very badly, as I have just done. :) Don't ask me how Scorpius knows about Lady Gaga, 'cause you totally know he would.

Reason 7: He sings in the shower.

On one Sunday morning, I was awakened by a small, muffled noise coming from the bathroom. I slowly sat up and rubbed my green eyes, wondering why everything was so blurry and tilting before remembering my glasses and haphazardly shoving them onto my face, nearly poking my eye out.

Now able to look around, I did so, and realized that the room was empty except for me. I hastily checked my clock, and saw that it was 10:03 a.m. I groaned, remembering how late I had stayed up helping Scor study last night. I needed to get work done today. Bugger.

I crawled out of bed and into my robes, and I heard the noise again as I was attempting (and failing) to comb my hair.

Frowning, I tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it. The noise became loud enough to identify it as singing, coming from one of the shower stalls. In it, of course, was Scorpius, belting out some old Muggle song.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH! THIS IS MY PRAYER! THAT I'LL DIE LIVIN' JUST AS FREE AS MY HA-AIR!"

I grinned, although his singing was pretty bad, picturing his hair, which I knew to be a vivid scarlet for the upcoming Quidditch match. Unless he had switched colors in the middle of the night, which wasn't altogether uncommon.

I could make out his feet under the shower curtain, dancing spastically as he sang. "I AM MY HAIR! OH, O-OH! OH, O-OH!" I could feel his crazy energy rubbing off on me, filling my chest with this feeling sort of like butterflies. Like a slap, but nice.

Still smiling to myself, I closed the door and attempted once more to flatten my hair.

A/N: I know, sort of a random ending... Review? =3


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. I can't come up with subplots that fatastic.

A/N: So, finally, the moment has arrived! And yeah... it really is that scary.

Reason 8: The Great Eyeliner Incident of 2028.

About halfway into the year, I walked into our dormitory, and there was my best friend with a little hand mirror and what looked like a black pencil that he was using to draw on his eyelid.

"Al!" His eyes went so wide I thought they might pop out of his head. The absolute terror on his face would have been comical if I wasn't so shocked, especially since the eyeliner he was wearing made his eyes look even bigger and and his hair was currently neon purple.

"Erm..."

"Don't tell!" he cried, and burst into tears right in front of me.

"Scorpius, it's okay, it's okay!" I rushed to him and held him close, even though I hadn't even begun to compute what had happened. I just couldn't bear to see him cry.

He buried his face in my robes and only sobbed harder.

I didn't know what to do, so I just patted him awkwardly on the back and waited until it stopped. Which took a while.

When it finally did, I asked him gently, "how long?"

"Since last summer." He gave a shuddering sigh and pulled away. His usually pale complection had gone blotchy, and there were dark lines running from his eyes; from the makeup, I guessed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was just- just nervous, I guess- I couldn't bear it if you-"

"Scor!" I said reproachfully. "I don't really care, I don't think. I mean... I guess it suits you, since you draw and dye your hair and stuff, and you're my friend no matter what, so..."

"Thanks, Al." I recieved a watery smile.

But I had to ask the question that had been nagging me in the back of my mind for a while and had just then been realized. "Are you gay?" Oh great, that was subtle.

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and almost as if he'd start crying again, which I really didn't want to happen, but he wiped at his eyes and nose and brought his knees up to his chest. "I- I don't know." His voice sounded miniscule, like a moth trapped behind glass. "I mean, there've been these signs, and... I try to make myself like girls, but I just can't..." He lowered his head so all I could see was his neon purple mop of hair and the long, graceful nape of his neck. I noticed how he'd dyed his hair all the way down to the roots, not a strand of blonde betraying him.

"I swear I'm okay with it. It's sort of obvious anyway... I think I really knew all along."

He raised his head and stared at me with his huge, sea glass-green eyes. "You don't think the others know, do you?"

Actually, I was almost sure they did. But because he was my friend and he looked so scared, I said "no, Scor, I'm sure they don't know."

"Oh, thank God." He lowered his head again. "I don't know what I would do if they knew... I mean, we change in the same dorm, they would probably freak out. They would hate me even more than they already do, they would hang me from the Astronomy Tower, they would burn me alive, they would lock me in Professor Trelawney's room with a big black dog and no key..."

"They won't hate you. I'm sure it will be okay."

He raised his head again, smiling tremblingly. "You're the best friend ever, you know that?"

"You too, Letitia."

And because he swatted at me, I had to return the favor, and then pillows got involved, and eventually there were feathers all over the room and we were there laughing on the floor, tears long forgotten.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The HP-verse isn't mine.

A/N: So, now you know how consistently I update. XD I could give all kinds of excuses, but really, I was just being lazy. I'm not exactly reliable. Sorry... I've been avoiding looking at my email all week, too, for fear of wrath... since I posted the first eight chapters in four days, this is slow by comparison. Oh, well...

I'd like to adress something in the last chapter: when Scor said he wasn't sure if he was gay, that was a blatant lie. He's known for a long time. It's easier to say you aren't sure, because if the other person even has a slight issue with it, it's still somewhat possible to take back. Since Scor had obviously been scared of anyone finding out, he was still tentative, even though Al pretty much already knew.

Also, this chapter is short- a drabble, really- but I'm uploading it with another, so it's okay, right? ^^

Reason 9: He looks like he has no secrets.

The day after he came out to me, I expected Scorpius to act different, somehow. But he behaved just as he always did, bouncing around in his oversized shoes and taking forever to spike his hair, chatterinh a mile a minute. He didn't even glance under his bed, where I knew his makeup to be hidden. He didn't look at me any differently than usual.

I almost found it disconcerting, how easily he acted as if nothing had ever happened; in our classes, at mealtimes, in the common room. The entire time, he seemed so open, so _shallow,_ with no secrets at all. I couldn't help from thinking... if he was able to lie this well, what else was he keeping a secret from me?


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Narnia aren't mine.

Reason 10: He still can't quite define himself.

_ ... But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn't know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had thought that, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan's face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming-_

Something was poking my arm. I distantly heard an outside voice and immediately tuned it out.

_-eyes; and then they found they couldn't-_

"Al. Al. Al. Al. Al," the voice said.

"Bugger off, I'm in Narnia," I mumbled.

"What do you mean? You're right here, smart one. Al. Al. Al. I know you can hear me!"

I gave up and wrenched myself away from my book and back into the sunny windowseat in our dorm. "Stop poking me, Scor, I'm back."

He blinked at me, finally inquiring, "what are you reading?" I held up the book so he could see the cover. "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," he read aloud, cocking his head to the side. "Is it good?"

"Of course it's good." I was a little miffed that he didn't know about Narnia. Doesn't everyone know about Narnia? How can he not know about Narnia? The pitiful, tormented soul.

My best friend (although how can you be my best friend and not love Narnia at the same time?) propped his chin in his hands. "I don't get why you like reading so much. It's so boring."

"I know _you_ think so. But I swear, you're wrong. When you read, you can go places, you can do whatever you want... You can go on a huge adventure in your room in a day!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Aren't there more fun things to do than stare at words all day? Come _on_, let's go _do_ something!"

I shoved the book into his chest, suddenly determined to make him see. "No," I said in my best impersonation of Mother, "you are going to read this. You won't leave the room until you read sixty pages."

His eyes widened further. "No! I'm sorry! I take it back!"

"Too late. Read it." I got up, stretched, and adjusted my glasses. "I'm going to get a snack."

"How am I supposed to read all this?!"

"With your superpowers you get every time you put on makeup. I'm sure it must give you superpowers or something, why else...?"

"I never should have asked," he grumbled, flopping uncerimoniously on the windowseat.

About an hour later, after doing homework etc, I returned to check on him. He was still sitting on the windowseat with my book resting on his pulled-up legs. His eyes were darting frantically across the pages, but the rest of him was stilled, completely engrossed in the story. I recognized the expresion on his face as one I must have when I read. I grinned and backed slowly out of the room.

A/N: Every time I get a review, I do a high kick (I dance, too, so by "high," I mean above my head).


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Foiled again!

A/N: I'm not sure if this makes sense, but I wrote this during the wee hours of the morning, forgive me! I think my writing gets fluffier the sleepier I am, too... I must remember that, it may be very useful information one day. Please review!

Reason 11: He knows exactly what to do when I'm in a state.

I sat in my usual armchair by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, assorted books and papers spread out on the table before me. Exams were coming up, and all I could think was, I have to be perfect. I have to be perfect. I have to be perfect. I had been studying all day (much to Scorpius' dismay), but I wasn't done yet. I wasn't perfect yet, despite the fact that it was nearly 2 in the morning and I had actually forced down an entire cup of black coffee.

I'm going to fail. I stared at my book, which was swimmimg before my eyes. The world was suddenly spinning very fast and squeezing me very tightly, so I had to breathe as fast as I could to keep up, and shake my hands up and down to let the world know that it should stop expanding and contracting like that because it was making it very hard to focus, and I needed to focus, IhadtoIhadtoIhadto-

Another pair of hands held mine to stop them from shaking. I made a small noise, because didn't that idiot know that shaking my hands was the only way to boss the world around? And besides, I thought I was alone.

"Al," this high voice was saying, and my breathing slowed enough to let me look up at whoever it was. Scorpius' light green eyes met mine, and I stopped trying to escape. "Just look in my eyes. Right in my eyes. Got that? Good..." the voice said, and it took me a moment to connect it to Scorpius.

"Scor, I have to-"

"I am not going to let you stay up all night stressing out."

"But-"

"No." I relented, releasing the breath I had been holding. "You're a genius, Al. You know that. You always get O's, and you help me with stuff I don't know how to do. I'm sure you'll be fine on the exams. I believe in you." I stopped listening, and let myself fall into his eyes. They were such a deep, relaxing green. I vauguely recalled the first time I saw them, how I thought they looked like sea glass. They bored into mine, and I could see it for a second- the real Scorpius, looking at me like he would never leave. His hands left mine and migrated to my face, softly touching my cheeks. "Are you breathing?" he whispered.

"Yeah." I realized I was. I was breathing again.

"Good." That shade of green was making me so sleepy. I felt like I was drowning in it, sinking deeper and deeper, and then my eyes were closing, and oh, this chair was so soft, and his fingers felt so nice...

Light as down, those figers brushed my temples as Scor took off my glasses for me. For a little bit, my face felt cold without him. Something warmer and softer brushed my forehead, and I heard a quick and quiet "'night, Al," before I fell into long-awaited sleep and dreamt that I was floating on a cloud with a small, mint-colored kitten, its purrs vibrating through my bones.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: When I gain the ability to transform into J. K. Rowling, I ****_promise_**** I will let you know. **

Reason 12: For all his superpowers, he unfortunately still hasn't figured out how to freeze time.

It wasn't like I hadn't known it was coming. It wasn't like we hadn't talked about this moment for the past week. But somehow, it didn't feel quite right, stepping onto the Hogwarts Express, knowing I was going home.

Scorpius almost ran into me when I paused. "What's wrong, Al?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, it's just..."

"Feels weird to leave, yeah?"

"Yeah."

We lugged our suitcases to the back of the train, finding the compartment where we met to be empty. After putting up our luggage, Scorpius stood right there in the middle, nodding with his hands on his hips like he was surveying a house he wanted to buy. He plopped right down across from me and laughed a little.

"What?"

"I was just thinking of the look that'll be on Draco's face when he sees my hair." I was still getting used to how he called his own parents by their first names, which added to my anxiety about how they would act towards Scor's appearance. And what about when he would come out to them? If the other Malfoys had been mad when he was Sorted into Gryffindor, how would they react to his sexuality? I shuddered, pushing the thought from my mind. They were his _parents_, after all; it couldn't be that bad, right?

I just nodded, not mentioning how much I had been missing my own family.

We awkwardly bantered the way back, our mouths full of chocolate frogs and cauldron cakes to make up for the long silences in our conversations.

When the train stopped, I spotted my family in the crowd, and my heart did a little leap despite itself. Scorpius didn't look at all, just stared at his untied shoes.

It was only once we stepped off the train and onto the platform that he let any emotion show, throwing his skinny arms around me and demanding forcefully, "you'll write to me, right?"

"Of course," I assured him, smiling slightly.

"Promise?"

"Promise. Every week."

"Good," he said vehemently, and pulled away, blushing and starting to glare at his poor, innocent shoes again. "G'bye, Al."

"Farewell, beautiful Letitia of the Castle of Gryff. Though we must part, I shall forever remember our brief passing." He smiled bitterly, daring to glance up at me through his lashes. His eyes were glistening slightly, and I thought, _shattered glass_, before he turned away without another word and disappeared into the crowd. _Shattered glass is really more beautiful than it has any right to be._

I swallowed against a lump in my throat and ran to join my family.

**A/N: So... this is the end... OR IS IT?! I'm planning on writing another story with these two, but with, you know, an actual plot (well, more than in this, anyway), and actual slash. Yay, slash! XD But I'm not sure if I want it to be narrated by Albus or Scorpius, or maybe alternating with the chapters, or maybe with other characters as well, such as James and Harry...? Please let me know which you want in a review! This is also your LAST CHANCE to review this story, so please do!**


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